Not really. That’s a big problem, in my opinion – raising ticket prices doesn’t really discourage people from visiting, so it’s just as crowded, but paying more to visit raises expectations. When folks pay more and more to visit but have fewer opportunities to ride rides, it makes them resentful.
European and South American visitors get massive multi-week package discounts not available to Americans, so it’s quite inexpensive for them to go in large groups and stay for two weeks or so, often with free or heavily-discounted meal plans and hotel rooms. So it’s very common to see huge South American tour groups and sports teams there for various events. In my experience, that’s where much of the crowding is coming from.
I’m not sure about other parts of South America or Europe, but Brazilians are offered big discounts because those big tour groups spend a lot more in the park on merchandise than other guests. The entire Orlando area is advertised heavily around Brazilian cities as an easy (from a language point of view), inexpensive vacation.
I can definitely tell! I see lots of huge groups from Brazil whenever I go there, often huge groups of cheerleaders. I remember standing in line at Big Thunder Mountain and the entire line in front of me was guys wearing Brazilian football jerseys and kicking a soccer ball from man to man, up and down the line, constantly doing football cheers.
Yeah, it’s a bit brutal, but the elimination of the SoCal passes may do exactly that. We used to have passes (we’re about 20 min away from the MausHaus), but with the increase in price have shifted to knotts. The “family amusement park visit” this summer is going to be to Great Wolf Lodge rather than Disney…
What will also happen is that Disney will find the local population considerably more alienated to have to shell out megabux (like all the plebes) to attend “their” park. I imagine this will lead to considerably more resistance on Disney’s labor/hiring issues, and everything that requires input from the local community. A bit of a “hey, if they’ve forsaken us, then F-them!” attitude…
It’s just a cultural imperative, not a law, silly. More compelling. My parents fell for it in the 70’s. I’d continue the tradition, but I dodged the other cultural imperative, having kids of my own.
Well, I believe DCA has a couple of bars, as well as restaurants that serve alcohol, so I’d imagine that any “drink at Disneyland” plan involves making one’s way back & forth between the parks, with stops at the hotels also probably included.
(There’s probably bonus points if you can somehow manage to swing “lunch invite from a Club 33 member” for an actual drink inside the berm.)
DCA has plenty of bars (including a very nice wine bar with a quiet upstairs patio), but when I go to Disneyland, I rarely go back and forth, because “park hopper” tickets are considerably more expensive than one-park-per-day. Instead, I go to Trader Sam’s Tiki Bar next to the Disneyland Hotel, it’s magical. The drinks have special effects!
I was lucky enough to be the guest of a Club 33 passholder a few years ago, before they remodeled. Then, they had a huge buffet as well as a classy lunch menu (a bit dated, sort of 80s-style fancy food) and a great bar. Having a Manhattan inside Disneyland was definitely a nicer experience than sipping a ‘mint julep’ in the Blue Bayou.
